Sewing machine



Nov. 5, 1929. N. LA CHAPELLE SEWING MACHINE Original Filed March 27, 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet Nov. 5, 1929. F. N. LA CHAPELLE SEWING MACHINE Original Filed March 27, 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet Nov. 5 i929. F. N. LA CHAPELLE SEWING MACHINE Original Filed March 27, 1920 3 Shts-Sheet a m1: aw

/z; paw M/JM' Patented Nov. 5, 1929 FRED N. LA GHAZPELLE, OF BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS A SSIGNOIR T 'Ufi'ITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION. OF -NEW JERSEY Application filed March 27, 1920, Serial No. 369,279. Renewed April 5, 1929.

The present invention relates to sewing machines and more particularly to sewing machines employed in the manufacture of.

moccasins and other articles made of heavy leather or similar material.

In the manufacture of moccasins, a'single piece of leather is lasted to form the sides and sole of the moccasin, and a toe piece is sewed to the sides about the toe portion to form an enclosure for the toe portion of the foot. Also, a piece of leather is generally sewed to the sides about the rear portion to form a covering for the instep and ankle of the foot.

It has been found that the formation of the seam between these parts of a moccasin presents difliculties which make it impracticable to do this Work on sewing machines as heretofore constructed. -Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a sewing machine that is particularly adapted for this class of work.

With this and other objects in view, a fea ture of the present invention contemplates the provision in a sewing machine of means for sewing a top part of a moccasin to the the sides and sole while the part that forms parts are on a last. Preferably, the seam between the parts is formed with a plain lock stitch that is invisible on the inner side of the work, and is formed in such a manner that the seam when completed is substantially flat and has the appearance of the best hand work. In connection with this feature of the invention, means is preferably provided having members engaging the parts of the moccasin adjacent their edges to press the edges toward each other and to feed the work. In the embodiment'of the invention illustrated in the drawings, the edges of the Work are turned up in advance of the needle by means of a plow that cooperates with said pressing members to grip and feed the work. Other features of the present invention consist in certain constructions, arrange-' ments, and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed, the advantages of which will be obvious to those skilled in the art. 0 The several features of the present invention will be clearly understood from the following description and accompanying drawings in' which Figures 1 and 2 are side and front eleva .tions, respectively, of portions of a curved hook needle lock stitch sewing machine em-' bodying the features in their preferred form; Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of 'instrumentalities of the machine shown in operative engagement with the forepart of a moccasin; Fig. 5 is a detailed perspective view of a plow employed to feed the Work and to present the work to the needle; Fig. 6 is a front View of the instrumentalities shown in Fig. 4 with the work shown in section and with the needle extending through the work; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a por-' tion of a seam between parts of an article, which seam may be formed by the illustrated machine.

The sewing machine, as illustrated in the drawings, has the same general construction and mode of. operation, except as hereinafter described, as the machine illustrated and described in the patent to French and Meyer No. 705,063, dated July 22, 1902. This machine is' provided with the usual curved hook needle 2, looper 4:, take-up 6, shuttle mechanism 8, and loop spreader 10.

The illustrated machine is also provided with a presser foot 12 and a plow 14 which cooperate to grip and feed the work, the presser foot having a four-motion feeding movement and the plow having a feeding movement in a horizontal plane. In Figs. 4 and 6 the presser foot and plow are shown in operative engagement with a moccasin having a sole and side part 16 and a toe piece 18 which are held in place ona last 20 with their edges abutting, by means of lasting tacks 22. The plow 14 engages the top of the last andextends between the abutting edges of the parts of the moccasin, the plow having upwardly and inwardly inclined faces. which engage the edges. The end of the presser foot is bifurcated to form a pair of pressing members 24 which are adapted to engage the work at opposite sides of the plow I to cooperate with the plow to firmly grip the edges of the work.

To feed the work the presser foot and plow are caused to grip the work and are then advanced toward the needle the length of the stitch to be formed. At the end of this feeding movement the work is held stationary by the presser foot and the plow, which parts continue to grip the work a sufficient length of time to permit the needle to penetrate the work, the looper to lay the thread in the barb of the needle, and the needle to withdraw from the work. As the needle leaves the work the presser foot is raised and, together with the plow, is retracted, whereupon the presser foot is brought down upon the work to cooperate with the plow to again feed the work. During this retracting movement of the presser foot and plow, the plow remains in contact with the last and acts to turn up the edges of the parts so that when the presser foot is-brought down upon the work the edges are pressed firmly against the inclined sides of the plow, as illustrated in Fig. 4. The needle enters the work adjacent the end of the plow while the work is thus held with its edges turned up, which insures a sufficient amount of stock between the top of the seam and the stitches to obtain an exceptionally strong seam. Near the limit of the retracting movement of the presser foot and plow the take-up acts to tighten the preceding stitch and to tightly close the adjacent portion of the gap made by the plow between the edges of the work.

It will be apparent that the seam formed in the described manner by the illustrated machine is substantially fiat and is sewed with a plain lock stitch that is invisibleon the inner side of the work; also that the seam thus formed will compare favorably both in strength and appearance with the 'best quality of hand work.

The plow 14 is provided with a verticalshank pin 26 which is secured to a bracket 28 and the presser foot 12 is provided with a vertical shank 29 secured to a carrier 30 which in turn is mounted on the bracket 28. The plow 14 and the presser foot 12 are vertically adjustable in relation to each other to accommodate the machine to operate upon different thicknesses and kinds of material. To this end the shank of theplow is adjustably secured in an aperture in a lug 32 projecting from the bracket 28 by means of a clamping bolt 34 threaded into the lug and engaging the shank of the plow, and the presser foot is adjustably secured to the carrier 30 by means of bolts 36 that extend through vertical slots in the shank of the presser foot and are threaded into apertures in the carrier. To impart the described feeding and retracting movements to the plow and presser foot, the bracket 28 is rigidly secured to a horizontal slide 38 mounted to slide in ways in a bracket 40 forming a part of the frame of the machine. The slide 38 is actuated by means of a lever 42 having one end pivoted on the bracket 40 and its other end provided with a cam roll 44 that engages a cam groove in a disk 45 carried by the main cam shaft 46 of the machine. The connection between the cam lever 42'and the slide 38 comprises a block 48 centrally pivoted on the cam lever, which block engages a transverse groove 50 formed in the top of the slide 38.

To move the presser foot vertically into and out of engagement with the work at the proper times, the presser foot carrier 30 is mounted to slide in vertical ways formed in the bracket 28. The carrier 30 is positively actuated by means of a bell crank 52 pivotally mounted on a horizontal shaft 54 mounted in the frame of the machine and having a cam roll at one end that engages a cam groove in a face of the cam disk 45. The connect-ion between the carrier 30 and the bell crank 52 comprises an arm 56 secured to one end of a rock shaft 58 mounted in a bearing at the upper end of the bracket 28 and having its free end provided with a slot that engages a stud 60 secured to the upper end of the carrier.

An arm 62 is secured to the other end of the "tween the arm 56 and the bell crank 52 is provided to permit the feeding and retracting movements imparted to the plow and presser foot to be effected independently of the bell crank 52.

While the features described herein are well adapted for use in a moccasin sewing machine, it is to be understood that, except as defined in the claims, certain features of the present invention are not limited to use in this particular type of sewing machine.

The nature and scope of the present invention having been indicated, and a machine embodying the several features of the invention in their preferred form having been specifically described, what is claimed as new is 1. A sewing machine having,.in combination, stitch forming devices including a curved hook needle, and work. feeding and holding means cooperating therewith to sew the abutting edge portions of pieces of material together while the, portions of the pieces of. material adjacent their edge portions are being held substantially flat in the same plane.

2. A sewing'machine having, in combination, stitch forming devices including a curved hook needle and a shuttle, and work holding and feeding means cooperating therewith for joining abutting edge portions of pieces of material to form a plain lock stitch substantially fiat seam.

the needle.

' the needle side of the work arranged between the edges acting to turn up the edges in advance of the needle to present the edges to 4. A sewing machine for sewing a top part of a moccasin .to the part that forms the sole and sides of the moccasin having, in combination, stitch forming devices, and means for feeding the moccasin while on a last and for turning up the edges of said parts of the moccasin to present them to the needle.

5; A sewing machine for sewing a top part of a moccasin to' the part that forms'the sole and sides of the moccasin having, in combination, stitch forming devices, and means for feeding the moccasin while on a last and for turning up the edges of said parts of the moccasin to present them to the needle comprising a plow engaging the last and workin between the edges of'the parts. 6. A sewing machine for sewing a top part of a moccasin to the part that forms the sole and sides of the moccasin while the parts are on a last having, in combination, stitch forming devices, and means for presenting the edges of the parts of the moccasin to the needle comprising a plow located between the edges of'the parts and engaging the last to turn up theedges in advance of the needle,

- and a presser foot having a work feeding movement engaging the parts at opposite sides of the plow. I

7. A sewing machine for sewing a top part of a moccasin to the part that forms the sole and sides of the moccasin while the parts are on a last having, in combination, stitch forming devices comprising a needle, means for presenting the edges'of the parts to the needle of the parts for turning up the edges in advance of the needle, and a presser foot en- 60 grip the edges of-the parts.

comprising a plow located between the edges and sides of the moccasin while the parts are on a last having, in combination, stitch forming devices for sewing the edges of the parts together, a plow engaging the edges and the surface of the last and having a movement longitudinally of the edges, and a presser foot having a four-motion feeding movement to cooperate with said member to feed the work. r

10. A sewing machine for sewing a top part of a moccasin to the part that forms the sole and sides of the moccasin while the parts are. on a last having, in combination, stitch forming devices including a needle for sewing the ed es of the parts together, and means for fee ing the work and for turning up the edges of the parts to present them to the needle comprising a plow located between and engaging the edges of the work, a presser foot'cooperating with the plow to grip and feed the work, means comprising aslide on whichv the plow and presser foot are mounted for'moving the plow and presser foot inthe direction to feedthe work while the work is .engagmg the presser foot from the work after the completion,.of the feeding movements. 7

11. A sewing machine for sewing a top .part of a moccasin to the part that forms the sides and sole of the moccasin while the. parts are on a last having, in combination, stitch forming devices for sewing the edges of the parts togetherfa plow located between and engaging theedges of the parts to turn up the edges, a presser foot engaging the work adjacent the edges and cooperating with the plow to grip and feed the work a presser foot carrier, means for actuating the presser foot carrier to move the presser foot into'and out of engagement with the work, and means for' moving the plow and presser foot in a direction to feed thework'while the work is gripped between them comprising a slide upon which the plow and presser foot carrier are mounted.-

FRED-N. LA CHAPELLE.

8. A sewing machine for sewing a top part of a moccasin to the part that forms the sole and sides of the moccasin while the parts are on a last having, in combination, stitch formcooperating with the needle to sew the edges ing devices comprising a needle, and means 7 of the parts of the moccasin together and to feed the work, comprising a member engaging the last between the edges of the parts, a presser foot engaging the, parts adjacent the edges, and means foractuating said member and presser foot to feed the work.

9. A sewing machine for sewing a top part A of a moccasin to the-part thatforms the sole 

